Happy Birthday, Janet
by Vicki595
Summary: Janet muses about her birthdays


Happy Birthday, Janet  
  
TITLE: "Happy Birthday, Janet"  
  
AUTHOR: Vicki  
  
EMAIL: little_miss_likes_to_fight@hotmail.com  
  
CATEGORY: Angst, romance  
  
SPOILERS: "Meridian," "Singularity" "Rites of Passage" and any other mention of Cassandra SEASON/SEQUEL: Post "Meridian" RATING: PG-13  
  
CONTENT WARNINGS: Character death; angst  
  
PAIRING: Daniel/Janet  
  
SUMMARY: Janet muses about her birthdays  
  
STATUS: Complete  
  
ARCHIVE: Archive: DanandJan yes Heliopolis yes. All others ask first DISCLAIMER: All publicly recognisable characters and places are the property of MGM, World Gekko Corp and Double Secret productions. This piece of fan fiction was created for entertainment not monetary purposes and no infringement on copyrights or trademarks was intended. Previously unrecognised characters and places, and this story, are copyrighted to the author. Any similarity to real persons, living or dead, is coincidental and not intended by the author. AUTHOR'S NOTES: So much for "Being Strong" being my only fic dealing with "Meridian"...! This can be viewed as a prequel to it, although it was written much later and as a separate entity. It's depressing, I know, but I'm going back to school the day after tomorrow so I really can't be happy!  
  
I've always hated birthdays. Even when I was a child, it nearly always coincided with returning to school, which, as you can imagine, I resented greatly. Everyone was always so busy with the start of a new school year that my birthday was forgotten. As my father was in the Navy, we never settled anywhere long enough for me to actually make any friends to share my birthday with. I would celebrate with my mother, and my brothers and sister, as my father, a very important officer, would normally be too busy for even his eldest daughter's birthday. For a long time, I was one of three children, and being the middle one, I was also somewhat ignored. I wasn't the oldest, nor was I the baby of the family. I was also the only girl, until my sister's birth. That particular event didn't help either, for she was so much younger than the rest of us that she was always the one being fussed over. Her birthday was also two weeks before mine, so we'd celebrate that in style, then it would be "Oh yes, Janet also has a birthday." Today, I'm actually very surprised at the good relationship I have with Emily, considering her place in my miserable childhood.  
  
Birthdays were then just reminders that I was another year older, still single and still childless. Of course, what were even worse were the birthdays I spent alone.  
  
However, things changed for the better ever since I got reassigned to the SGC five years ago. I adopted a twelve-year-old girl, called Cassandra, whom I love dearly even though she's now she's a sulky teenager. I made and kept most of my new friends, especially the four members of the team designated SG-1.  
  
First, there's Colonel Jack O'Neill, the team CO and base 2IC. We have a relationship based on his healthy fear of my needles, and my ability (and authority) to aim them wherever I please. He's not the easiest of patients in the world... okay, universe, as I discovered actually before I was assigned to the SGC. Oh yes, Jack O'Neill and I go way back. I have hazy memories of nights out together when we were both stationed at Moody in Georgia. It would have been one of those nights when I broke my collarbone. If I recall correctly, that would have been one of the 'okay' birthdays. Going fine until I ended up in an ER in Valdosta in rather a lot of pain, despite the alcohol, with half a dozen very drunk airmen.  
  
Anyway, back to SG-1. Major Doctor Samantha Carter is the team 2IC and my best friend. We couldn't be more different to look at really - she's tall and blonde, and I'm... petite and naturally a brunette. But we have the same sense of humour, although fortunately different taste in men. She is head-over-heels in love with a certain grey haired colonel, while as for me... let's not go there.  
  
The third member of SG-1 is Teal'c. He's a Jaffa, which means that he carries a larval Goa'uld in a pouch in his stomach. From a medical point of view, he's a fascinating man to study, but more importantly, he's a good friend.  
  
Last, but certainly not least, is Doctor Daniel Jackson. A civilian anthropologist, he has the bluest eyes I've ever seen and a tight firm ass. Hey - as his doctor it's my job to ensure that all parts of his body are kept healthy and looking good (especially in jeans or leather). Okay, so it's also part of my job description as his... well, partner for the lack of a better term. Girlfriend brings to mind my teenage daughter and her hormone filled romances and I think I'm a bit old for that. I guess I could use the term lovers, which would also be accurate. We're together, an item, seeing each other... Daniel's wife Sha're died two years ago, and a couple of months after that on my birthday - he asked me out. We weren't really dating at that stage, and actually only became intimate a few months ago. Not even Sam knows about our early relationship - she thinks it started when Cassie was ill and Daniel supported me through that. That was one of my better birthdays; probably the best I can name in recent years. We all went out as a group for that one. Actually, thinking back, that was probably my best birthday. The year before that, SG-1 had just returned from P7X-229, and as presents I got a concussion from Sam, inflamed tendons from Jack and a sprained ankle from Daniel. And last year, they were stranded in a Goa'uld pleasure palace, having been addicted to some substance there, which also caused the deaths of SG-5. Another bad birthday. I was able to talk to them though, as I managed to persuade the General to let me dial up the planet on my birthday to send supplies through, and also let me talk to them, which was nice of him.  
  
But none of them really compared to this one. Today, I had to stand by and watch the man I love die of radiation poisoning. Today, I stood while his best friend stopped Jacob Carter from trying to heal him with a Tok'ra healing device. I knew that the device might not have cured him fully, but at least he would still be alive. Instead, I had to watch him as he ascended to a higher plane of existence, or some other crap like that.  
  
And now he's gone, and I'm sitting alone in my living room. I can't even drown my sorrows because I have sneaking suspicion that I could be pregnant. I was going to take a blood sample today at work, but that was certainly out of the question. There's a shop bought one upstairs, but I'm too scared to do it alone. Cassie's asleep in her room, but I can hardly wake her because her mother's too scared to take a pregnancy test alone. Surely it should be the other way around - the mother supporting the scared daughter?  
  
If I thought that I was pregnant any other year, then it would be the best birthday ever. Instead I'm mourning the loss of my child's father and I don't even know for certain if I am pregnant. It hasn't been proven medically, but I know somehow. That sounds really great coming from a medical doctor, but the fact is that I'm a woman first and foremost and the woman in me knows these things. Plus the doctor in me seems to be recognising the early symptoms.  
  
I'm so tired and drained. If tomorrow morning's going to be anything like this morning, then I'm going to lose the entire contents of my stomach again, and I have another nine months of this to suffer. Alone, unless you count my teenage daughter who was horrified when she first realised that Daniel and I were actually having sex!  
  
The bed's cold and empty without Daniel, which is strange, because it's obviously not the first time we've slept apart. I guess it's different because I know he's never coming back, although in a weird way I can still feel his presence. It's probably just wishful thinking on my part.  
  
Anyway, today has just confirmed what I've always known. Birthdays suck. And with as much irony as it deserves, there's only one thing left to say.  
  
Happy birthday, Janet.  
* * *  
  
The end  
  
Author's notes 2: I made Jack and Janet friends pre-SGC days based on the connection they shared in "The Broca Divide." I remember reading somewhere speculation that they had been lovers due to the chemistry between Richard Dean Anderson and Teryl Rothery in that episode, so I wrote that they knew each other from way back. (If they were lovers or not is up to your discretion) 


End file.
